


Met You in the Falling Rain

by kereia



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, Board Games, Conversations, F/M, Fluff, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Rey is thirsty, Soft Ben Solo, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-09-24 23:06:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17109872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kereia/pseuds/kereia
Summary: While Rey is backpacking through Spain, she gets caught in torrential rain. Lucky for her, a tall, shy, handsome stranger offers her shelter.





	Met You in the Falling Rain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lulubellisima](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lulubellisima/gifts).



The rain came down in sheets.

Wiping water out of her eyes, Rey veered away from the coastal walk and hurried up the narrow steps between two garden walls.

She'd left her hotel in Benidorm early in the morning, her backpack slung across both shoulders, and her rain cape tucked into the pocket of her hoody. She'd planned this hiking trip for two months, and since she'd stepped off the plane in Murcia last week, the excitement of being on her first solo vacation had hardly waned.

She'd certainly had no intention of letting a little bad weather deter her. Ever the optimist, she'd even gone so far as to opt for shorts instead of full-length pants.

And during the first stage of today's trail, it had seemed as if her luck was going to hold. Everything had gone according to plan until lunch. In spite of the unceasing wind and gray clouds that had threatened rain all morning, the weather had held as she'd walked along the promenade of Altea's beach and crossed the bridge at the mouth of the Algar River, where it flowed into the sea.

Seagulls had strutted across the sand, hoping to snatch up bits of food that the off-season tourists threw their way.

The track to Calp had taken her almost three hours, and by the time she'd arrived, she'd been sweating in spite of the wind. The path wound through the coastal hills and included a few steep inclines, the last of which just before the outskirts of town. It had also forced her to walk beside the main road for a couple of miles, and while there hadn't been a lot of traffic on Sunday morning, she hadn't felt comfortable trudging up the narrow serpentines, especially when the wind obscured the sound of oncoming traffic.

However, once she'd crested the hill and seen Calp stretched out before her, the sight had been worth the track. She'd walked down into the center of town, past the creatively ornamented roundabouts and the flooded salt flats where she'd paused a moment to empty her water bottle and watch a flock of wild flamingo stalks through the shallow waters.

A short walk had taken her past hotels and apartments buildings back to the beach where she'd picked a bar with a view of the marina and the Penyal de Ifach, the massive limestone outcrop that split the beach of Calp in two. The wind had picked up by then, and the promenade had been almost deserted, save for a few stragglers who'd been ducking their heads against the wind, their clothes pushed back and fluttering against their bodies. While Rey had ordered a hearty lunch and refreshed herself in the bathroom, the flag on the beach had been changed from yellow to red, signaling that the surf was too dangerous for swimming. Not that anyone had actually been trying to.

Stretching her legs beneath the table, Rey had frowned up at the sky. She'd been determined to make it all the way to Denia before nightfall, but that would have been another six to seven-hour walk, and with the weather finally turning, she'd realized she'd be lucky if she made it to Teulada. The town was further inland then she would have liked, but the roads along that section of the Costa Blanca wound up into the cliffs of Cap de la Nau. Rey would have loved to see the lighthouse up there, but not on foot. Once she'd reach Denia, she'd planned to stay  on for a couple of days, exploring the city and surrounding countryside, including the lighthouse.

Though for the time being, she'd needed a new plan. Pulling up the map on her phone, she'd studied her options. A coastal walk had caught her eye, stretching towards Moraira above the shore and merging with the coastal road which was packed on both sides with bars, restaurants and pottery stores as well as a host of real state agents, which seemed to make up at least a third of all business on the coast. In any case, she'd be able to hide out in a bar, if the rain became too heavy for her cape.

After paying for her food, Rey had set out along the coast line, past the outcrop and across the short stretch of Calp's eastern beach. At its end, she'd reached the gravel path that was framed by the back walls of coastal properties on one side and the steep slope down to the ocean on the other.

The slopes had leveled out into several small beaches along the path, and every now and then, the whitewashed walls to her left had had a gap with narrow stairs leading up to the streets. Most of the walls had been low enough to allow glimpses into well-tended gardens, and the simple wooden balustrade that protected her from stumbling off the uneven path had occasionally been overgrown by spruces and yellow cedars.

In the waning light, the ocean had looked more gray than blue, and it hadn't been long before the first drops of rain had fallen onto Rey's head. She'd fumbled her rain cape out of her pocket but had staggered against the ferocity of wind.

Cursing quietly, she'd tried to pull the crackling fabric over her head, but the wind had torn at it, forcing her to crouch against the wall and shelter it with her body from the gust that had threatened to blow it away. Ducking her head, she'd finally managed to get it over her head, when another gust had filled the cape, blowing it up and over her head with enough force to rip it out of her cold fingers.

"Oy. Come back here."

She'd run after the cape, but she'd barely taken five steps before it had tumbled underneath the balustrade and down the cliff into the sea. As if the skies had been laughing at her, the rain had turned into a downpour about ten seconds later.

Grinding her teeth, Rey had pulled her hoody up and had stalked along the path, all appreciation for the coast forgotten. Her clothes had been soaked through within seconds, and the rain had been dripping from her hairline down into her eyes. The gravel path had become even more treacherous beneath her feet, and she'd kept close to the walls in order to navigate a particularly narrow section where previous rainfall had washed half the path away, and even the balustrade wouldn't have stopped her fall.

She'd breathed a sigh of relief when she'd come across the next gap in the walls that would take her into the residential area and to the coastal road beyond.

 

* * *

 

Rey emerged at the end of a dead-end road, with the road taking a sharp turn two houses down the row and heading further up the hill. Directly across from her, a decrepit wall, half crumbled in several places, marred the picture-postcard setting of shiny new vacation homes that lined the rest of the street.

Instead of the cube-shaped architecture that was the hallmark of these recently built houses, a finca in the older Spanish style could be glimpsed beyond the wall. Small rooms, nested together, each with their own roof, and formerly white washed walls turned gray by weather and lichen that had taken root in the roughcast. Beyond the property, through the dark branches of the spruces scattered around the garden, Rey could see the lights of the coastal road. If she crossed the property, it would get her to shelter faster than if she went all the way around, especially since there was no telling when the road would make another turn.

Though the property looked neglected, light fell through the net curtains of the closest window.

If she went through the gap in the wall, she'd be trespassing.

On the other hand, it would take her less than a minute to cross the garden, and what were the chances of someone looking out the window in this weather at the exact moment she was running past it?

Another gust of wind had her shivering and staggering forward with the sheer force behind it, and that decided her.

She hurried across the road and pressed herself and her backpack through the narrow gap, careful not to twist her ankle on the rubble in front and behind it. A squelching sound accompanied her arrival on the sodden ground, and she quietly thanked Finn for insisting that she buy new hiking boots before boarding the plane. They hadn't come cheap, but they'd definitely proven their worth since she'd set out on the road a weak ago.

She was sprinting onto the path that ran along the outside of the house when something suddenly exploded right next to her.

Rey jumped and instinctively threw herself against the wall.

Her heart only stopped hammering in her throat, when her gaze found the shattered terracotta pot that had been blown off the rooftop terrace above her. Looking up, she could hear another sliding sound as the squall pushed even more pottery against the balustrade. The planting pot beside her had apparently been small enough to fit through the gaps between the stone columns.

As the momentary surge of adrenalin faded, she became aware of a sharp sting on the side of her calf. Looking down, she cursed when she saw the cut on her leg and the blood that mingled with the rain water on her skin, thin rivulets of it drenching the top of her white socks.

"Oh, bloody hell," she exclaimed as she bent down. "This is so not what I need right now."

"Can I help you?"

The deep voice startled her back upright.

A man was standing in the door. He was tall, and apparently unperturbed by the rain rapidly soaking his black hair, revealing rather large ears that stuck out from his head. While Rey was still gawking at him and frantically scrambling for words, his gaze fell to her leg.

"You're bleeding," he realized, his expression turning from curiosity to worry.

"I am so sorry. I know I'm trespassing, but I just wanted to get to the road as fast as poss–"

"Don't worry about it. People do it more often than you'd think. Come inside. Let me help you patch that up."

Rey hesitated. Growing up in foster care had given her a finely honed sense about people, and he didn't ping her creep radar. On the other hand, he was a stranger – a very tall, very broad (very attractive, she couldn't help but notice) stranger, and the way the rain had plastered his black shirt against his upper body left her in no doubt that he could probably bench-press her body weight without breaking a sweat.

On the _other_ other hand, his ears were adorable, and how many ax murderers with endearingly large ears could possibly live in the southeastern Spanish coastal region?

"Thank you," she said with a hesitant smile and followed him through the door.

Unlike the dilapidated wall and garden, the inside of the house was cozy, even though the furnishing was sparse. Colorful rugs covered most of the beige tile floor, and the walls had been painted in shades of yellow and orange, giving the space a warm, welcoming atmosphere. To her left, an arch led into an open plan kitchen with a dining area taking up half of the room. A small table sat between two wooden benches, a board game laid out on top of it. In front of her, a very narrow hallway led to three other doors, and to her right, the living room was comprised of a desk with a laptop on it, a TV mounted on the far wall, and a sofa that appeared invitingly plush with two fuzzy orange blankets thrown across the back rest.

A low coffee table fashioned out of beechwood, and two sideboards complimented the airy ambiance, and Rey suddenly felt a little forlorn when she thought about the stark hotel rooms in which she'd been staying. Dripping water onto the tiles, she missed her tiny flat on the outskirts of London for the first time since she'd boarded the plane.

"I'm Ben, by the way. You can take off your shoes and take a seat in the kitchen if you want. I'll get some towels and disinfectant for you."

"Oh, sure. Thanks. I'm Rey," she said and hastily bent down to untie her laces.

She felt herself flush when she realized just how much mud she'd tracked into the hallway, but there was nothing she could do about that now. Entering the kitchen, she slipped her backpack off her shoulders, pushed the cushion on the bench aside, and replaced it with her pack. She sat down on top of it, very aware that her clothes were completely waterlogged.

Drops of rainwater kept dripping from the hem of her shorts onto the tiles, and she jumped back to her feet as soon as Ben returned.

"May I please use your bathroom? I'm dripping all over your floors."

Color rose into his pale cheeks, and he looked at her with wide eyes. It was rather adorable.

"Of course. Sorry, I should have offered right away. I don't get many visitors," he offered by way of explanation as he stepped aside so she could pass. "It's down the hall and to the left."

He awkwardly thrust a stack of fluffy blue towels at her, which she accepted with a smile. It made him blush even more, and Rey felt a sudden, sharp tug in her abdomen.

She let her eyes roam across his face, taking in his long nose, his warm, brown eyes, and the enticing plushness of his mouth.

 _Too bad, I'll be back on the road soon_ , she thought with no small measure of regret.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"You're welcome," he replied, his voice so deep and rich that Rey felt her eyes go wide. _Oh, that voice should be illegal._

Clutching her backpack to her chest, Rey hurried into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She quickly stripped down and changed into dry underwear and the only other long-sleeved sweater she had brought with her. She also placed a set of dry pants on the rim of the bathtub before she pushed her wet clothes into the spare plastic bag she kept for her laundry. The sweater was long enough to almost reach her knees, so she was technically dressed decently enough, though that didn't stop her from feeling self-conscious when she stepped back out into the hall.

However, it didn't make much sense to put on pants while her leg was still bleeding.

 

* * *

 

Ben had changed into a gray-blue shirt. Unlike the one he'd worn before, this one didn't cling to his torso but draped just loosely enough around his shoulders to look comfortable and warm. Studying him, Rey couldn't help but wonder if it would feel as soft between her fingers as it looked.

He was mopping up the floor in the hallway, and Rey fought against the instantaneous surge of guilt that went through her. Another apology was on the tip of her tongue, but he forestalled her with a warm smile. "Did you find everything you needed?"

Then he realized that she wasn't wearing pants.

His gaze darted along the length of her legs before it quickly snapped back up to her face.

It was a thoroughly silly thought, but Rey had the feeling that she would never again be attracted to any man who didn't blush as prettily as he did.

She did her best to tamp down the giddy feeling that spread through her chest. "I did. And the cut doesn't look very deep, so I'll probably just need a plaster, and I'll be set."

"Let's have a look at it then."

Leaning the mop against the wall, he gestured for her to enter the kitchen ahead of him. Back at the table, she noticed that he'd pushed some of the game components to the side and replaced them with a few home medical supplies.

She perched a little awkwardly at the edge of the bench and looked up at him. She'd known that he was tall, of course, but from her altered perspective, he positively loomed over her. She was a little surprised that it didn't make her uncomfortable.

For his part, Ben seemed oblivious to the way she stared at him. His was studiously focused on extracting a pair of sterile gloves from their packaging. "I'm really sorry that you got injured," he said. "I should have put the flower pots inside when I saw the weather report, but I forgot that they were up there."

"It's okay. It doesn't really hurt, and my tetanus shots are all up to date, so there's that."

The edges of his mouth quirked up. "I'm glad to hear it," he said softly, and Rey sucked in a sharp breath when the low rumble of his voice washed over her. _This was bad. This was so very, very bad_. She pressed her thighs together.

"Are you alright?" his gaze darted down to her legs. "You said it didn't hurt."

"No. No, it doesn't. I'm fine, really." _Oh, where was that hole in the floor when you needed it?_

His expression was worried. "If you're sure." He pushed his hand into one of the gloves.

"I am."

The glove was too small for his hands. It tore along the length of his middle finger, the inner part of it peeling back to flap against his palm.

Rey laughed. Ben closed his eyes.

"Sorry, I– uh, I have big hands."

"I noticed." The words were out of her mouth before she thought about them – certainly before she could stop them – and they rang in her ears. Had her voice actually sounded as suggestive as she thought it had? Oh please, god no. She'd never get over the embarrassment.

A cautious look through lowered lashes confirmed her fears.

Ben was staring at her with wide eyes, and the tips of his ears were as pink as his cheeks.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

_Okay. Change the subject. Change it now!_

She hastily grabbed the package of antiseptic wipes from the table and tore it open. "Don't worry about it. I can do this on my own." Her words tumbled out of her mouth so fast that they ran into each other, but Rey barely noticed. Her cheeks were burning.

She bent down and brushed the wipe across the cut, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip at the sharp burn the action elicited. A second later, she heard the tearing of another package, and then Ben was kneeling on the floor and gently lifting her leg to wipe up the tracks that had run down her calf.

Her heart did a strange flip-flop motion in her chest. What the hell was happening to her?

While Ben was kneeling before her, she could only watch numbly as he rested her foot against his (massive, gorgeous) thigh and gently cleaned her leg. His head was bent over her, so she couldn't see his face, and perhaps it was her imagination, but his voice sounded a little rough when he spoke to her.

"So, what– what brings you to Spain?"

Rey cleared her throat. "Art restoration. I'm spending a semester in Madrid to learn different techniques and gain more practical experience."

"Oh, so you're backpacking along the coast to visit churches and those small coastal fortresses that are all over the place?"

"Well, I do make an effort to visit some of them, but I'm mostly just trying to have a vacation before the semester starts. I basically just unloaded all my stuff in Madrid before I left for Murcia. I haven't really been abroad before, and I wanted a chance to get more familiar with the language."

He gave her a knowing look. "And how's that working out for you?"

"It's more challenging than I thought. People speak a lot faster than I'm used to, which I expected, but a lot of the words are different from what I learned, even though I took classes in Catalan as well as Spanish."

"Yeah. They speak Valencian down here."

"That's the regional dialect? I noticed that most of the traffic signs are bilingual."

"Well, officially it's only a Catalan dialect, but if you ask people who live here, many will insist that Valencian is a language in its own right."

"Oh. Well, I guess that explains that."

Ben looked up at her curiously, and Rey felt a pressure inside her chest ease. There wasn't any awkwardness in the air between them, just a light, alluring tension that she would love to explore.

"I came across someone a few days ago, and when I asked him for directions, he appeared not to understand what I was saying, except I kind of got the impression that he did. I don't know, maybe it was just my imagination. Most people have been very friendly and helpful, but there was this moment when I switched to English, where he gave me this long look before he pointed me in the right direction. It was just a weird moment that left me wondering."

"It's possible. I've met a few locals, especially older ones, who are angry enough at Madrid not acknowledging their language that they refuse to speak Castilian or Catalan."

He discarded his wipe on top of the torn glove, and Rey placed hers next to it. The cut on her legs had stopped bleeding. Ben selected a large adhesive bandage and covered it, his fingertips brushing down the edges, making sure that they stuck to her skin.

"How far did you want to go?" he asked.

"I had plans to make it all the way to Denia, but the weather kind of got in the way of that. I was hoping to get at least as far as Moraira, but.." she looked out the window, "I guess I'll just take a hotel room on the coastal road and hope that the weather clears tomorrow."

When she looked back at him, there was an uncertain expression on Ben's face. He moved his jaw, almost as if he was trying to bite back words that crowded his tongue. He was still holding her leg, his thumbs brushing along her skin, and Rey honestly didn't believe he was even aware that he was doing it. His hands were not only big, but also warm and gentle, and Rey didn't dare say anything, because she didn't want him to stop touching her.

"You could stay here."

It took her a moment before her brain verified that, yes, he had most certainly said what she thought he'd said. By the time the information fully registered, his expression had changed from hopeful to bashful. "For a few hours, I mean. Until the rain stops. If you want to. Though there's a hotel about half a mile up the road, and I can call a cap, if you don't."

"I– I don't want to impose." _Yes, yes you do._ "You've been so kind to me already." _Why are you arguing?_ "And you're expecting company." _Seriously, stop talking!_

His look was puzzled. "Why would you think that?"

Rey pointed at the board game. To her surprise, Ben looked embarrassed, and his hand unconsciously tightened around her calf... which was, unfortunately, the moment he realized that he still had his hands on her, and he abruptly let go of her leg and clambered to his feet.

"Ah, no. That's– uh... I was going to play that by myself. It's just that they haven't released an app for it, yet, and it's one of my favorite games, so I brought it along, and uh–"

Rey laughed. "Oh, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who does that."

Ben blinked. "You what?"

Rey turned towards the table and studied the game board with barely restrained eagerness. "So, Clank! in Space. Is that just a different board from the regular version of Clank!, or did they change anything about the rules?"

"You play board games?"

Rey tilted her head and gave him a cheeky smile. "No, Ben. I _win_ board games, and leave the competition in the dust."

The smile that sprang to his face was wide and luminous. "Is that so?"

"Much to my friends' regret. I am no longer allowed to play Terra Mystica with them. Though I just bought Gaia Project, and I'm hoping to sneak it into our next game night before they notice the similarities. They really don't like losing."

"Maybe the reasons you've been winning is that you've never come up against a worthy opponent before?"

She jutted out her chin in challenge. "Is that a gauntlet I see being thrown down?"

He rubbed his hands against his thighs. "Do you want to play?"

"Hell, yes."

Before they got started, Rey quickly put on her pants and a pair of dry socks. She accepted Ben's offer to put her wet clothes into his dryer, and five minutes later, she was fully prepared to crush him under the heal of her boot – or under the power of her deck-building skills as the case may be. There were some minor modifications to the rules to which she was used, but Rey soon found herself in her element, and the next hour was spent talking and playing the game. Ben told her that he'd inherited the house two years ago when his uncle had passed away, and that he was only here because real estate developers had kept sending him letters with offers to buy it.

"Luke and I didn't have the best relationship, and I pretty much tried to ignore that he even left anything to me. But I thought that before I sell it, I should at least have a look at it."

"So that's why the garden looks the way it does. I'd been wondering."

"It doesn't really make much sense to rebuild the wall when it'll be torn down again anyway. This is a pretty large property, so they'll probably split it into two lots to make more money that way."

Rey looked up from her cards. "Seems a bit of a shame, really. I mean, the garden needs repairs, but the house is lovely."

Ben chuckled. "It might look like it, but it's in pretty bad shape, too. I patched up the roof in a couple of places, but it really needs to be replaced, and the pipes and wiring are both ancient. The last time I tried to use the toaster while the stove was on, I had smoke coming out of the junction box and had to replace a resistor."

"I can see how that's not ideal. So, you're set on selling?"

He did that chewing motion with his mouth again and stared at his cards. "Yeah, I guess I will."

"You don't sound completely convinced."

His gaze darted up to her, and Rey quickly backtracked at the unexpected vulnerability in his eyes. "I'm sorry. That was nosy. You don't have to tell me."

"No, it's alright. It's just that my uncle and I... we had a falling out because of my job, or well, actually it was more about the person I used to work for than the job itself, but... anyway. I hadn't talked to him in nearly a decade, and then he called me one day out of the blue and apologized for what he'd said to me..." he trailed off, obviously uncertain how to continue.

"What happened?"

"I hung up on him." Ben put his cards face down on the table, and leaned back on his bench. "Even after all that time, I still didn't want to listen. The irony is that he'd been right with pretty much everything he'd thrown at my head ten years ago. I don't know, if I'd been trying so hard to get away from my family that I simply didn't want to see it, or if I was really that blind, but by the time he called me, I was starting to put the pieces together. I was knew I was going to quit my job, but I shut him down anyway. Not because I was angry at him, but because I was too embarrassed to admit that I'd been wrong."

"That's a pretty common reaction," Rey said with a slight wince. She'd certainly been known to dig in her own heels a time or two, most recently when Fin had called her out on the food she kept hoarding. It had been five years since she'd left her foster father, five years since she'd gone to bed with a stomach so empty it was aching, but she still couldn't stop herself from adding another dozen cans of soup to her already loaded cupboards every time she went into a grocery store.

Finn's compassion had somehow made her embarrassment even worse, and instead of playing it off, she'd snapped at him to leave her be. It had taken her the rest of the day before she'd been able to apologize, and she couldn't even imagine what must have happened between Ben and his uncle to cause a decade long rift. 

"You were caught off-guard," she said with a self-deprecating shrug.

"It was petty," he insisted.

Rey's smile was understanding. "That, too."

"I just wish I'd reacted differently. Or that I'd called him back and made it right before he died."

"May I ask..."

"Car crash. My mom left a text that he'd been trying to pull someone out of the road and got hit instead of them."

"I'm so sorry, Ben." Then his words sank in. "Wait your mom _texted_ you about your uncle's death?"

Ben sighed and rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. "Yeah, that used to be the only way she could be sure to get in touch with me."

"Let me guess. You also weren't talking?"

The look he gave her was decidedly sheepish.

"Also because of your boss?"

He nodded.

She very carefully placed her cards in front of her. "I have to ask... You're making it sound as if you were working for the mafia."

Though he snorted at the suggestion, there wasn't really any humor to it. "Not directly. Though, truth be told, it wouldn't surprise me if we laundered money for them."

Her eyes must have gone comically wide because he quickly elaborated. "I used to work for a bank. First Order National? You may have heard of them. They were in the news lately."

Rey nodded. "That investment scheme that fell apart. I remember." She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you left."

"So am I. In a way, Luke's death gave me the final push I needed. It made me realize that time wasn't an infinite commodity. You only get so many chances to make things right, you know?"

Rey looked down at her hands. What he was describing had been one of the hardest lessons she'd had to learn.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm just-" she swallowed heavily. Should she even tell him about this? She'd only known him for a few hours. Yet, somehow she found herself wanting to share what was on her mind. Maybe it was because he'd been so open with his own regrets that she felt that she could trust him with hers.

"I grew up in foster care," she continued after a moment. "And I kept clinging to the hope that my parents would come back for me for a very long time. Too long, actually. You see, this isn't just my first vacation abroad, it's the first time I left London. There's this park in Millwall, where they left me... I used to go there every day and sit on a bench hoping that they'd walk past. It took Finn and Rose more than a year until they'd talked me into applying for a semester abroad, even though I really wanted to go."

She self-consciously tugged an errand strand of hair behind her ear. "The day before I flew down here, I went to that park for the last time, just because I felt that I had to say goodbye. I know that sounds absurd, but–"

"It doesn't," he quickly interrupted her. He reached across the table and threaded his fingers through hers. "I get it. Sometimes all you have is hope to get you to the next day... and the day after that."

"It becomes a bit of a double-edged sword when it stops you from living your life, though."

"True. And I'm glad you have the kind of friends who talked some sense into you. God knows, I could have used some of those," he replied with a self-deprecating smile.

Rey couldn't stop looking at their joined hands or ignore the warmth unfurling in her chest. "Yeah, they're the best," she said quietly.

Ben's voice was unbearably soft, almost wistful when he continued. "I know _I'm_ glad you came here."

 _Oh_.

She quickly looked up at him, her heart jumping into her throat, but Ben looked absolutely mortified by what he'd just said. He snatched his hand back.

"To Spain. I meant that I'm glad you came to Spain. Since you said, you'd wanted to."

Rey couldn't have kept the teasing note out of her voice if she'd tried. "Right."

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" he asked hurriedly as he rose from the bench so quickly he jostled the table. "I was going to make chicken curry."

Tall, handsome, adorable, a board game enthusiast, and he could cook, too? Rey was in _serious_ trouble.

She didn't have to check whether or not the rain had ceased; the constant, low drumming above her head told her that she'd probably need a pair of wellingtons if she wanted to go outside, or, possibly, a row boat.

"I would love to. Can I help you with anything?"

"Sure. How about you chop the bell pepper, and I'll take the onions and garlic?"

Rey's mouth watered at the idea of a home cooked meal. "Absolutely."

 

* * *

 

Dinner preparations passed in a blur, with Rey telling Ben about her friends back in London and her track up the coast. In turn, he confessed that he and his mother were trying to repair their tempestuous relationship, which involved a lot of conversations, a lot of honesty, and a lot of time-outs, which they used to process and regroup before they took another tentative step towards being a family again.

At one point, while the chicken simmered in coconut milk and honey, Rey pulled out her phone, and they played a quick pass-and-play game of Ticket to Ride, in which Rey discovered that Ben really liked to aim for that longest route bonus, and Ben discovered that Rey really liked to block.

"You're such a monster," he laughed after she'd effectively cut him off from any possibility of reaching Las Vegas.

"Yes, but I get away with it because I'm cute," she teased him.

Ben gave her the softest, warmest look that made Rey's toes curl and her heart throb in her throat.

"Yes, you are," he said shyly, and then he ducked his head and stirred the curry.

Rey stood rooted to the spot. Was this really happening? Was he _even_ _real_? Because there was only so much more she could take of this before she decided to forgo dinner (Her! Ignoring food!) and jump him right here in his kitchen.

The shy admiration in his eyes was like a balm coating the frayed edges of her insecurities, and she had to forcefully remind herself that she'd known him for less than a day and that there was a strong possibility that she would never see him again after she left. It was completely irrational to hope that she would.

But she wanted to. She wanted to get to know this kind and quiet giant of a man, who'd shared some of his most painful memories with her, and had listened to hers in turn, who'd taken her hand and patched up her leg, and who'd made her feel, in just a few, short hours, as if there was a real connection between them. She wanted to explore it - wanted to know if it let to anything more than just a fond memory when she returned to Madrid.

At the very least, she had to ask. She'd regret it if she didn't.

Taking a deep breath, she approached him, her fingers twisting nervously in the fabric of her sweater. "Ben? Do you think- Would you like to have breakfast with me tomorrow? At one of the coffee shops on the coast?"

His gaze flew to her face. He appeared sincerely surprised by her question, and Rey had absolutely no idea what to do with that until a smile came over his face, and she saw relief flash past his eyes.

"I would love to. But if you're planning to make it all the way to Denia, we'll have to be early. The track will take you longer on some of the hiking paths after this downpour."

"I was actually thinking, I might stick around for a day or two," she said, searching his face. "And with the hotel not being far from here, maybe we could meet up again? Explore some of the sights?"

Holding her gaze, Ben hesitantly stepped closer. His Adam's apple bobbed in his throat. "If you– I mean if you want to, you could stay here. I have a spare bedroom. It's not very big, but you wouldn't have to spend money on a hotel."

Rey smiled up at him. "Are you sure you want me around that much? You don't even know if I'm one of those people who leave their stuff all over the bathroom," she joked quietly.

"I'll risk it."

For the longest moment, Rey was sure that he was going to kiss her. They were standing so close that she could feel the heat of his body bleed into hers. And they way he was looking at her, with eyes the color of whiskey and honey and warmth... oh, she could get lost on those eyes, would gladly drown herself in them.

Which was why she barely managed to stifle a groan, when Ben suddenly pulled back.

Her confusion mounted as he quickly went into the hallway and retrieved his wallet, his actions culminating in him thrusting a New York driver's license at her.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked, utterly bewildered.

Color rising to his cheeks, he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I thought you might want to take a picture and send it to your friends. So they know that you're with me. We don't really know each other, and I want you to feel save."

Rey struggled with the sudden tightness in her throat. It took her a long moment before she could parse why _this_ of all things made her eyes sting.

 _He's watching out for you,_ she thought, and the realization made her heart ache so badly, that she instinctively rubbed her hand against her breastbone to ease the pressure beneath it. _There haven't been many people in your life, who cared enough to do that._

_Fuck._

It was too much.

Her gaze never leaving him, she placed the driver's license on the counter next to her, grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and crushed her mouth to his.

Ben made a tiny noise in the back of his throat, and then his arms came up around her, and Rey happily let herself be drawn into the warmth of his body. She pressed herself against his broad chest, a shiver of excitement running down her spine when he yielded to her and opened his plush, soft lips under the gentle pressure of her questing tongue.

He tasted like the curry he'd checked for the right balance of spices only minutes before, and Rey wanted to devour him, wanted to wrap herself around him, and feel his body tremble beneath her hands. She flattened her palms against his chest and ran them down to his stomach. His entire body jerked when she pressed her fingers lightly against his abdomen before she continued her exploration along the solid line of his waist and up the shifting muscles of his back.

She could feel his body heat through the barrier of his clothes, and she unconsciously tried to get even closer, while the hot, wet slide of his tongue against hers made her head spin with the most basic, simple sense of _wanting._

A moan rumbled through Ben's chest, and she could feel the vibrations of it resonate inside her as if he'd somehow become an extension of her, as if her breath lived in him, and his in hers, and their hearts beat perfectly in tune.

When Ben reluctantly broke the kiss, both of them were panting.

He rested his forehead against hers and gently rubbed his long nose against the tip of her own.

"I didn't–" he swallowed hard. "I didn't have an ulterior motive, when I offered you the guest room," he said. "I don't want you to think–"

She quickly rose up and gently nipped at his lower lip. It was so plump and red and inviting that she couldn't _not_ do it.

It shut him right up.

"I know," she assured him. "But I want to stay with you. I want you, Ben. I just _want_ you."

"God, Rey." He nuzzled her cheek and peppered her neck with kisses. "You can have me," he told her fervently before he slanted his sinful mouth back across hers, and Rey lost herself in another kiss.

She had two weeks left before she needed to be back in Madrid. Fourteen days to figure this out. Fourteen days to get to know each other, to share their memories, their bodies, their plans for the future. Fourteen days to see if hope could bloom into reality.

Rey had always been an optimist.

 


End file.
